Onsen Hotel Gorakan — Hotel in Hakone

This ‘hotel’ is a ‘ryokan’ – a traditional Japanese inn. If you have not stayed at one of these before, it is better to do some research as you will follow set timings and customs on arrival, starting with removal of outdoor footwear before entering.||||This Hotel is not signposted in English so to find it, turn right out of Gora station main entrance and go down the small underpass. At the end, turn left and go up the hill. The hotel is the first building on the right, set back from the road, no more than about 200m from the station. Make sure that you arrive by about 17:30 and no later than 18:00 as dinner is at 18:15.||||On arrival, you will be told your meal and bathing times. It is an ‘onsen’ which means that you are allocated a time in one of the private hot spring baths. Note that these are not for washing: this is carried out in the public bathing areas before going to the private onsen where the purpose is to simply soak in the hot spring water.||||The rooms are traditional Japanese. On arrival, you will be offered tea, served at a low table in your room by your hostess. You sit on a cushion on a chair with no legs! You will also be given a yukata which is the clothing to be worn throughout your stay at the hotel, dinner and breakfast included.||||Both dinner and breakfast are traditional (and elaborate) Japanese meals. Beer, sake and (western) wine is available, though the beer in particular is a little expensive. The hostesses speak a little English and will guide you if required. Overall, the food and the service are very impressive. After dinner, you will return to your room to find that the table has been cleared away and futons laid out on the floor. This is your bed. If you’ve not experienced such sleeping arrangements before, it takes some getting used to, but that’s why you’re here. If you do want to experience traditional Japanese hospitality, the Onsen Hotel Gorakan is to be...

Really want to give this place a 5 but there were a few things I feel that I should not overlook in reviewing Gorakan. The Wi-Fi is only accessible in the lobby area (absolutely zero service in our rooms, I saw kids hanging out in the lobby area so they could watch videos on their iPhones) so we were forced to use our limited SIM card data during our stay there. The futons also had a noticeable sour stench (my hunch is that the sheets and casings were clean, but the comforter inside was not washed recently). The private onsens were very comfortable, large (def could accommodate up to 6 or more people) and easy to book. Since there are not many other guest rooms there is not too much competition over the two private onsens. The breakfast and dinner service is amazing! My fiancé and I were always very full at the end of a meal, but not uncomfortably so. The ladies who manage the place do not speak much English but they know enough for it not to be an issue. They always made sure to supply the room with new tea and snacks every afternoon. Location is very convenient as it is less than 5 min walk from Gora station. During the day you can hear the sounds of conductors making announcements and trains passing by but this stops in the evening and is not a problem for sleep. We stayed in the Yumedono room which was very spacious. I highly recommend staying here as none of the negatives outweighed the overwhelmingly positive stay we had and the price is...

I do NOT recommend this hotel. It is a typical Japanese Ryokan Style hotel. I enjoyed the private hot spring and I also loved the Kaiseki course. The location is also great, quite close to the Gora station.

However what upsetted me the most is the attitude of the owner. I can speak full fluent Japanese, but after I showed my passport , he refused to speak Japanese with me. Instead he used English that I could barely understand. I tried to explain to him that I could speak Japanese but he insisted, and also when I tried to ask him for help, he was not friendly at all. Luckily I didn't have much interaction with him, but the whole thing made me uncomfortable and definitely not gonna go back.

Other than this, I noticed on my invoice it says "Foreigner Plan". As I booked with Expedia, out of curiosity I checked on Japanese website like Rakuten and realized I was charged double the price. I could say nothing about this but the whole thing doesn't sound reasonable to me. And also this hotel is a bit old and needs renovation.

I will go back to Hakone but I will pick a different place to stay. This place definitely disappointed me because I have been always a fan of Japanese...